LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 10, 15 December 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The ordinary meeting of the Stratford School Committee will be held on Tuesday, 21st hist., at 8, p.m. A Pr«S* Asociation message from Auckland states that Douglas Sutton, aged 10, was drowned in the Waipa river, Ngaruawahia. Mr P. A. McHardy, of Palmerston North, has forwarded ' to life Y.M.Q.A. a cheque’' for £IOOO to l’Hi[expanded on Christmas gifts for soi(djers at the front.— P.A. i■ l • i ’jjt’r F.’ Foley of His Majesty Theatre :has,, generously handed to the commit-, ■ tee,'of the Convent School about 200 tickets for distribution among the children, whose picnic'takes place today at Ngaere, inviting them to attend His Majesty’s to-night to wind up the day’s amusement. Admission will be free to all ticket-holders.

The Mayoress (Mrs J. W. Boon) lias received the following; From the Stratford School (Miss Hogg’s class')— 15 white handkerchiefs, 19 khaki handkerchiefs, 16 pillow cases, 3 lace cloths; Huiakama School Children—l 15 white handkerchiefs, 9 face cloths,' 8 bandages. Saturday’s shop takings clear of expenses, amounted to £8 13s 2d. The bottle-of-peas guessing competition was won by Mis s Ha skill, who guessed 795, the correct number being 793. j

A Palmerston North Press Association telegram to-day states; At a 1 meeting of the Terrace End School Committee, the following resolution was passed, and will be forwarded to the Education Board ; “That, owing to the number of male teachers finding it imperative to enlist on active service, this committee is of opinion that the Government should hold out some greater inducement to young people in the matter of salaries to induce them to take up the teaching profession.” it is reported that owing to. sickness and recruiting, the greatest' difficulty is being found in carrying on. j ... I Now that any person soliciting con-y

tributions in money or in kind for any

war purpose without a permit is liable to a line of £'2o, some doubt exists as to where to get the necessary permits. In this connection, the Mayor (Mr J. \V. Boon) states Unit a number of applications f-om the County which have been sent to him have been passed on to Mr Penn, county clerk, who will arrange with the chairman (Mr Hathaway) to have them signed and posted out. The Mayor also states that he will .ho pleased to issue any permit in :, ihe* borough, provided they are recommended by the Patriotic Committee the Ladies’ Patriotic Committee, or the Belgian Relief Committee.

Cr. Mills’ reference at the Borough Council meeting on Monday night to the drainage near St.- Mary’s School was not intended to,refer Co the school itself hut to a property adjoining, from where the drain runs through the school grounds.

Weather Forecast.—The indications aie for northerly winds strong to gale prevailing. Expect warm and humid conditions. \\ eather clouding over, rain later. Gasometer falling shortly.—Bates, Wellington. The privileges of the publican’s booths at the Stratford Racing Club’s meeting on January 1 and 3 were sold by public auction at Newton King’s on Saturday, and were secured by Mr E. Crabtree, of Eltham. The successful bids for the inside and outside booths were, respectively, £134 and £SO.

On Monday next, December 20th, the Midhirst people are entertaining -Mrs R. J. Hogg at a farewell social on liie eve of her departure for Egypt, Mrs Hogg having offered her services and been accepted by the \ olunteer Sisterhood for work in the military hospitals at the front. Mrs Hogg lias four brothers on active service, and feels a strong call to give the best assistance to our soldiers she is able. Dr. Agnes Bennett, it may be remembered, scales very highly of the work of the Volunteer Sisterhood in the Cairo hospital.

Tiie athletic contests in connection with the Bayly Memorial Scholarship take place in Victoria Park, Stratford, to-morrow (Thursday), commencing at 10 a.m. An interesting programme will be presented. The piece de resistance will be the Invitation Race, i.e., the champion race for secondary schools in Taranaki, which tj'dl take place at 2.30 sharp. Six competitors from different schools are to meet in this event, and a great finish may he looked for. Bruce, of New Plymouth, and CVnitts. of Stratford, have alreadymet twice in this race, each having a win to his credit by inches only.

„ The Farmers’ Gift Produce Mart and Sale of Work which is being conducted in the “C.8.A.” Buildings by Mesdames Sangsler, Hewitt and other ladies, from December 18tli to December 24th, is a special effort which the promoters are making to raise money apart from the ordinary Patriotic efforts, to assist the Volunteer Sisterhood Fund and for the Wounded New Zealanders in Britain. Though the matter is a separate one so far the Ladies’ Patriotic Committee is concerned, it is not intended to clash in any wni- with the efforts being made, or the good work which is being done by that Committee,'and the promoters specially desire to emphasise this point. 'Liberal promises 'oP -dpport ‘have been received - from-Stratford and isnrroundidg districts; 1 ; ’ IUI

In I the Supreme Court at Palmerston on Friday, before Mr Justice Edwards, Hqnuali Elizabeth Pawelka applied for a 'divorce from Joseph Pawelka, on tile grounds of desertion. Mrs J. Pawelka said she lived at Ashhnrst, was married at Ashhursfc in 1909, there was one , child of the marriage, and in the early part cf February, 1910, her husband deserted her. Almost immediately after the marriage her husband ill-treated her. Her husband got into trouble, was charged |vith a large number of offences', sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment, slje,. had net seen or heard ol him since and as far as lie,knew he *■. • # i.nid i hi l [fVilli was not now in the'Dominion. His, Honor said that everybody: that ! Pawelka wa s not to be found. A decree nisi was granted, to be made absolute in three months .petitioner to have charge of the child.

Telegraph poles in open country are particularly, liable to injury by lightning, and during the heavy thunderI storm on November 14 eight poles near j Redvale were struck (states the Grey j River Argus). An interesting set of photographs illustrating the damage has been obtained by Mr R. M. Baird, district telegraph engineer. The poles were of totara, and while one was split cleanly from top to bottom, and another scorched along it full length, others were more extensively damaged. One pole was shattered into fairly large pieces, hut the one next to it was burst into splinters, and only the arms remained floating on jthe wires. The upper portion of another pole was cut off cleanly, and fell to the ground. There are six circuits on the Northern line, and only three of them were in workable order after the storm. The photographs were sent to the chief telegraph engineer, Mr Orchiston, who recalls in a note to Mr Baird, that over 40 years ago 18 poles in one stretch north of Wanganui were reduced to “mince-meat” by lightning, few of the pieces exceeding Gin. in length.